Three-axis ois for super-resolution imaging

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for super-resolution imaging using 3-axis OIS. A super-resolution image may be created by enabling optical image stabilization (OIS) in three axes using an OIS system on a camera of an image capturing device; capturing an image of a scene using an image sensor of the camera; shifting the image on the image sensor by a predetermined subpixel amount; capturing the subpixel shifted image; and constructing a super-resolution image of the scene using the image and the subpixel shifted image. In one particular implementation, a position sensor may measure a positional drift of the image sensor after capturing the image. Using this measured positional drift, a time sufficient to shift the image sensor by a predetermined subpixel amount may be determined. The OIS may subsequently be disabled in one or two axes for the determined time.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present disclosure relates generally to electro-mechanical devices and systems, such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). More particularly, various embodiments of the technology disclosed herein are directed to image resolution enhancing techniques that use 3-axis OIS systems.BACKGROUND[0002]Current methods of image zooming include digital zooming and optical zooming. In digital zooming, a picture is cropped to an area of interest and the pixels of that area are blown up. Although the area of interest is “zoomed in” the resolution is significantly less than the physical pixel resolution of the image sensor. An alternative to digital zooming is optical zooming, where a motor moves the optical elements of the camera lens to change the lens' focal length, i.e. the distance between the center of the lens and the image sensor. Although optical zooming samples the actual zoomed image by the physical resolution of the image, its hardware requirements are ill-...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The technology described in this patent allows for stabilizing an image on a camera by moving the lens in three degrees of freedom. It also allows for optimizing the point-spread function over a specific area of the lens to provide better image quality and reduce blur. Additionally, a deconvolution algorithm can be applied to remove blur associated with the point-spread function during the construction of a super-resolution image. These features provide improved image quality and faster processing for the camera.

Problems solved by technology

Although optical zooming samples the actual zoomed image by the physical resolution of the image, its hardware requirements are ill-suited for miniature cameras such as those found on mobile devices.

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